Love during the games
by Queen of the Wallflowers
Summary: Clove may be a killer but she is also a romantic. After a conversation with Peeta, she realizes exactly what the Hunger Games is costing her. She realizes that there is no winner in the games. ONESHOT


**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. It belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

* * *

Clove watched as Glimmer and Cato flirted with each other. It made her sick to her stomach.

She was having a hard time not throwing one of her knives, at perfect blonde Glimmer.

She hated her alliance. Marvel kept hitting on her and touching her. Glimmer and Cato couldn't keep their hands off each other. The other were too quiet, and she didn't like it.

The only person she really trusted funny enough was Lover boy or Peeta as it was his real name.

She trusted him because she knew his agenda. He was with them so he could protect Katniss if they came across her.

It was the only reason, she didn't kill him. The fact that he was in love and willing to die touched her heart.

She may be a "bloodthirsty killer", the capitol's words not hers, and was good with knives just as the Girl on Fire is good with a bow, but that doesn't mean she isn't a girl. She has a soft spot for love and romance and all the girly stuff it came with.

Also, because despite them being in a killing games, he's a gentleman.

* * *

She sidesteps Marvel for the 10th time as he tries to smack her ass and trips. She pushes herself up and sees a hand extended to her.

Peeta.

When she hesitates, he simply grabs her hand and pulls her up. She stumbles and he pulls off her bag.

He is now carrying two bags and Clove decides to walk next to him.

He makes a good walking partner. They are quiet as they walk and she scoffs as Glimmer kisses Cato after they kill someone.

It's sickening and her heart aches.

Was it just last night? When Cato promised her 'to death till we part'? When he promised to love her always? When they made love for the first (love not just sex) and maybe last time? Despite them somewhat having a relationship (it was mainly just them kissing and fucking), Clove was hurt.

Somewhere in the past 2 years, she had fallen in love with Cato and she thought he had fallen for her. She was wrong, obviously. She watched as Cato grips Glimmer's waist and her hands shake.

* * *

Then she feels fingers intertwine into hers. She looks up and the boy next to her.

Peeta.

Lover Boy is holding her hand, squeezing them. He looks at her with understand and she knows that he knows.

He then drops her hand and suggests that they keep going before night falls.

Clove is left behind him, puzzling over his behavior. Surely, he understands that there can only be one winner.

Also, that creating friendships during the games is useless.

* * *

They walk for a bit before they come across another girl. She dies, her screams echoing in her ear, and Clove blinks tears away. She reminds herself that every death means she is closer to going home to her sisters.

Its lunch time and they stop to eat.

She sits next to Peeta far away from Glimmer as possible. She sees Cato looking at them with anger.

* * *

Peeta chuckles softly.

She turns to look at him surprised.

"I'm sorry."

She looks at him in confusion.

"You remind me of my best friend. She's like you."

Clove doesn't know why but she leans forward and whispers. She knows the capital will hear everything if they don't edit it out but she wants to know.

"Tell me about her."

"I have known her forever. She's small, but taller than you and just as beautiful. Princess like. Blonde hair like mine. When we were little we used to pretend we were related. She Katniss's friend. Her only girl friend. She's looks sweet but deadly. It's thanks to her that I can fight. When we were little, she was determined to keep up with my older brothers. Made them teach us how to wrestle and lift flour bags. She helps out in the bakery every now and then. She loves strawberries. She's in love with the big bad boy of the district. He's Katniss's best friend. I can picturing her look of shock and horror as I talk now. She's blushing and probably is thinking of ways to bring me back to life, so she can kill me herself. He is probably staring at her in shock, because they always argue and there is a thin line between love and hate."

Clove laughs picturing a blonde girl with curls, her pink lips parted in shock and a blush on her cheek. She can picture the girl looking at the best friend and then darting her eyes away.

"If she was in the games?"

"She would be a fighter. She would trick everyone being all sweet, and then wait for everyone to kill each other or figure out a way to make kill everyone without getting hurt."

"If we met under different circumstances?"

"She would probably be your best friend."

"What's her name?"

"Margaret. We call her Madge."

Clove whispers her name and smiles. She feels that in another world, Peeta and Madge would have been her best friends.

* * *

Suddenly, she wants to tell him everything, she wants someone to know the real her.

"My full name is Clover Alexandria Isabela. I have two younger sisters. I'm the youngest and smallest of my year. No one thought I would make it past the cornucopia. I killed my father and I wasn't supposed to be in the games, the girl who was supposed to volunteer, chickened out and the girl who was called was a little thing, 12, and I couldn't let her go. Cato was my mentor and I fell in love with him. I gave him my virginity when I was 15 but we made love last night, or so I thought."

She doesn't even realize that a tear has slid down her check until he wipes it away with his finger. Clove is stunned by the kind gesture.

"Why?"

Peeta pauses and then smiles sadly.

"You are still a girl. You deserve to be treated like one. Like a princess… just with knives. Boys shouldn't hurt princesses or make them cry. We may be in the games but, I'm still a gentleman when possible."

Clove felt tears well up in her eyes, she looked at him and she knew that he saw everything.

She had never been treated like this.

She spent most of her lives dodging punches from her father and trainers. Cato treated her like she was special, but never like a princess.

Clove gets up suddenly and announces that she is going to scout around and see if there are any easy kills. She needs to think. She can't kill Peeta, she can't kill him or Katniss. He is determine to bring Katniss home, and she understands why. He loves her that he is willing to die for her.

Cato jumped up to go with her but Clove refuses.

She couldn't stay there anymore. Being treated with such kindness, made her hurt badly because she was going to die.

She knew that as soon as Katniss came out on the stage in her dress that she was good as dead. District 12 would have a winner. She never stood chance.

* * *

When it comes to love, everyone loses.

Love is one game in which few ever win, and if they do, it's a long battle.

Love in the games isn't a first but it is the first where someone actually voices it.

She has seen it, love in the games.

She saw it Haymitch's games, whenever he looked at his pretty partner.

In her brother's games when he jumped in front of a knife for a girl, he didn't know but had kissed once on screen. She remembered her father being mad and taking his anger out on her, before she killed him.

This game is like no other.

She sees the love everywhere.

She is in love with Cato.

Peeta with Katniss.

Thresh in love with Finch, as she had caught them kissing after the interviews.

This game is the worst, not because it's the Hunger Games or because she is in it but because she sees the future of what could be and she just realized that 23 of them wouldn't get that future and that the winner wouldn't get their future either they would get hell.

This isn't the Hunger Games, this is murder, cold blood murder and she lets that sink in. She's a killer.

She's a killer.

It dawns on her and she weeps bitterly.

She's just a girl.

She hears footsteps and wipes away her tears and gets ready to throw her knives away and sees Cato.

"Clove?"

If she is going to go to hell, she is going to do something for herself.

She stomps up to him and pulls him down and kisses him.

It's a hard and angry kiss and Cato responds with the same emotions.

It's not long before they are in a cave naked. The cameras are probably looking away but Clove could care less if they see.

Let the people see that there is love in these games.

* * *

When they join the others, she sees Peeta looking at her.

Later when they find Katniss, she pulls Peeta aside and makes him promise that if he or Katniss win, they will watch out for her sisters. He agrees and she feels her heart breaks when she realizes that he has to die for Katniss to live.

Maybe that's why she is hesitate to let Cato kill him. Let him have his happily ever after even if it was for short while.

Maybe that's she doesn't kill Katniss during the feast, because she remembers the raw love in his eyes as he talks about home and District 12.

The Feast ends in her death and she can't help but scream for Cato because she loves him and she wants to see him before he dies.

The viewers watch as Clove dies and as Cato whispers three words. They watch him break.

* * *

Katniss and Peeta don't see this unitl after the rebellion and they settle down to watch all the coverage of the games, every last hidden moment.

Peeta sheds a tear for the girl who in another life would have been his other best friend. He cries for the two lovers who never had a chance.

He sheds a tear for his best friend, who went missing after the fire. He cries for a certain hunter who searches the crowd, looks at every blonde girl, looking for his angel. He shed a tear for the two little girls his wife loved and lost. He cried for all the lost lives and loves the games took. He cries for the childhoods that were stolen.

Katniss cries as she sees the real love of the games.

She cries as she pictures Gale's face when news that a certain blonde was still missing. She cries as she realizes she will never see her sister. That her sister will never marry Rory. That she and Gale could never truly be best friends again. She sheds a tear for all that was lost.

The Hunger Games killed more that 23 children every year. It destroyed families and futures. It brought people together and torn them apart.

 **So its been a while, about six months. Sorry I have been busy. I had no idea how much stress senior year would bring me. Not just school but other stuff. My best friend and I... its complicated to say the least. Anyway, I have been writing on wattpad and I do have many ideas and I hope to update more soon. Anyway, I missed all of you. Love you ,my wallflowers!**


End file.
